UNIBE

I would like for UNIBE Students to contact me and let me know what are the things I have to expect of the school and the area in Santo Domingo. Pro's and Con's. I need to know b4 I make a desicion.
Thanx

I'm not an UNIBE student but I was just curious, what do you know already and what do you want to know, in specific details. I am located in the dominican republic, but I am a student of La UASD. This might not help you but I can try and answer some of your questions.

I would like to know what to expect, expecially from classes. How teachers are, how tests are, is it safe to walk to school, how should I study and prepare for tests. You see, I finished my basic sciences in PR and transferred here. The system in PR is different when it comes to tests. Should I get a bank account here.... t hings like that. I am really very nervous. It is the first time I am away from home without having the commodity of traveling every weekend. I feel really lost and the people that I know, who transferred before I did are very reluctant to help.
I need all the help you can give me. Thank you.

THIS IS COPY AND PASTED! I DID NOT WRITE THIS!


UNIBE (non bias)

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Okay first of all I am not here to big up UNIBE, believe me I have my problems with them. On the other hand I do feel there are some good things about UNIBE, and so as a student from UNIBE, who is studying for his boards and planning on transfering out for clinicals in the US, I feel I can give some justice to the much debated topics.

UNIBE is a full fledged University, with excellent facilities and a great campus. The management and administration is pretty much like any third world country....backwards. Is the school really good, well I wouldn't say that the education standards are great, they do not prepare you for the boards the way schools like ROSS, SMU, and ect....would. In my opinion the students that come to UNIBE can be classified as two types...the do deligent hard workers (and these types will suceed no matter where they are) and the slackers. Is UNIBE a slacker school....hell yes it is. Can you pass the classes with your eyes closed, of course you can. But in reality the succesful students put in thier time and study and read and get ahead. Unibe students are passing thier boards and doing very well..partly because they feel inferior, and therefore put in more effort and time in the USMLE, or because they just are that smart and have worked that hard from the start.

The life...well hands down the life and living standards are the best compared to any offshore medical school. You are pretty much at the beverly hills of the caribeans. You live like a king with the aristocrats of thier society, everything is at your finger tips. You need not worry about anything, and many can agree you can live a better life there than in the US. And things just keep getting better and better there. This of course can be a bad thing with all the beautiful woman, great restaurants, amazing beaches, awesome clubs and pherhaps the best parties you have ever been to. The luxuries are all there, yes it can be very distracting, and can suck you in. But as responsible medical student, you can use the living standards and luxuries to your advantage and get ahead.

Most people that come to visit the country get an unfair image, because they dont get to see the right things....and being new there, PEOPLE WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU. It has happend to me, believe me when I tell you it has happend to me in my first semester.

The biggest draw back I find about UNIBE and the biggest reason people transfer out is the fact they do not have clinicals in the states. UNIBE claims to have it, which is partly true, but that is available for only one semester and to the top students. Clinicals in the DR...have thier pluses and minuses aswell. The hands on exp is like no other, and the things you see and are able to do are amazing learning exp. However I like many others would rather do it in the US.

UNIBE can be a valueable tool, if ur the strong headed type that will use it for everything it is worth, and those type of students will get the extra edge and advantage from the administration (many hook ups and connection, again only for the rising stars that will bring a good name to the school). UNIBE can be destructive, because the partiers and slackers can get threw in a breeze ( and in reality they just make money for the school).

Most students I know..have chosen UNIBE because of financial reasons, and also because of the federal loans. Where as other schools only offer private loans which harder to get.

The other students choose UNIBE because they have freinds that have gone there, and see the true "Paradise life". Of which a huge percentage get to live it up, party it up and at the same time get an MD degree and surprisingly pass thier boards with good marks and end up doing very well.

But in reality what is the MD degree when u can not pass your boards...truly it will fish out the morans who dont deserve to be doctors from the real people who can be doctors.

I dont regret the great life I have had UNIBE, and things I have learned, that have made me who I am today. It will have a special place in my heart always, but i took them for what they are worth, used and abused them for it. IF I HAD THE CHANGE TO DO IT OVER AGAIN, I WOULD HAVE NOT GONE TO UNIBE, I WOULD HAVE GONE TO A SCHOOL THAT DEMANDED MORE OF ME AND PREPED ME FOR THE BOARDS BETTER, like SMU, ROSS, SABA, MUA and so forth.

so all the haters out there, take it easy, i am just telling my exp. and giving my opinion and i hope i have spoken fairly.

I will post more on UNIBE later. but for those of you students planning on going to UNIBE..my advice..study hard, work hard, be responsible and use them for what they are worth, your there for only one purpose and that is to study medicine. Dont let anything else get in your way, and if you work and study hard...THEN YOU WILL SHINE NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE.

a truly post that one

haha... Welcome to the site Nana!

Cool, I'm proud too.... Finally, someone from my school I can compare notes from. So what classes are you taking right now?

The hole 2nd semester kind of "hard"... but "that's the way it is"... i'm doing fine right thanks Lord... and you what classes you'r taking?

Most of the 10th semester classes along with some other stuff. Yeah, the 2nd semester classes can be kind of difficult, but wait till you get to where I am... Then we'll be talking business! :smile:

So you transferred to another school on the island and this school has clinicals in the US ? This sounds like a smart thing to do - because the language (I know a little Spanish but don't feel confident) would keep me from applying in the first place but if you get to do clinicals in the US, then it really isn't an issue. Also, is your school recognized by the California medical board ? Is it the school you graduate from what they base the medical license on ? Do they accept US federal loans ? Thanks for your help.

Sorry for not noticing this before but hopefully you will see it soon.
To answer some of your questions, no, I never transferred from one school to another. I started at my school and plan to finish there.
Second, the only rotation we are allowed to do in the U.S. is the social services in my school.
Spanish was a bit of an issue for me at first but I got the hang of it and have moved passed that fase as expected. It's really not a big deal because there are a lot of foreigners at my school and the teachers SOMETIMES try to be understanding.
Yes, my school is recognized by the California Medical Board and they based there medical license on medicine?!
No, they do not work with federal loans (to my knowledge anyway) but you are allowed to take loans (prestamos) provided by the school that, of course you are expected to pay asap.
You are very welcomed.
Hopefully that answered all your questions. Later!

I'm glad you answered, I was beginning to feel neglected ! I got confused when I read the post you copied and didn't read the bold section ! When you came to SD, how much Spanish did you know ? I have had the first year of Spanish over and over again in grade school - through high school - long time ago !) and most recently I had 3 semesters in college. I can read and comprehend okay but speaking is not my forte and the teacher would have to go slow for me. Do you think I should stick to applying to a place like UNIBE ? Or do you know students like me who do well ?

BTW, do you go to carnaval ? Do you get to socialize at all ?